This year has been quite interesting to say the least. The installation of Officers was performed by Pastor John in March, and in June we had a farewell party for him and Cindy.

Donations were made throughout the year to Haven House, Capes House and Greater Hammond Community Center. Dues were paid to Church Women United.

Thanks to JoAn Allen for her diligent work with World Community Day, World Day of Prayer and May Friendship Day. We thank Carole Decker who remembers our sick and shut-ins with get well cards and best wishes throughout the year.

Our 25+ year members were honored with lovely cards designed by Emily Shutko and a donation in their honor was made to the Tracy Dragos family. We thank Emily for her continued work. Two 50th wedding anniversaries were remembered: Herbie & Wayne Peck and Dennis & Marina Engel. We regret the loss of three long time members: Bertha Sutton, Billie Beilfuss and Zoe Behling. Our 116th birthday was celebrated in October.

As in the past, we have been busy and enjoyed a great number of good times, good fellowship as well as a lot of good food. We were also very fortunate to have welcomed Pastor Susan at our June meeting and we wish her well.

We hope the year ahead will be smooth and bring Peace and Love to all!

God Bless,
Nelda Heller, President
Elayne Young, Secretary
Virginia Kicho, Treasurer

The past year has seen on big change for us. Our meetings are now held on Saturday mornings. Our Saturday "breakfast meetings" have been well received and well attended, but there is always room for more.

As always, we had our annual steak fry and Rail Cats Game outing in July along with Sunday morning breakfasts for our church family throughout the year.

Al VanBruggen, President

This group of seniors does not spend a lot of time in their rocking chairs! The activities of the group are as varied as day trips to local places of interest, informative speakers, musical groups, picnics and a Christmas party.

We car pooled to Sandridge Nature Center, The Shrine of Christ's Passion and the Veteran's Memorial. We were entertained by the Ukulele Band and the "Remember When" Quartette.

Since we all enjoy eating, every meeting included lunch!

Herbertine Peck

First let me say a personal word of appreciation to all the Deacons. Thank you to, Cheryl Austin, Rene Engel, Kay Wagman, Brad Fuhs, Elayne Young, Carol Wheatley, Cecile Schuyler, Ginger Graves, Donna Graves, Brian Scherer, Vickie Beilfuss and Shari Bennett.

These 3 teams of Deacons worked exceptionally well together and were a great help anytime there was a need to fill in for one another. I also appreciated all the extra help during special services such as Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday and any Lenten services. A special word of thanks to Diane Scherer, who always helps out when she knows we are short handed!

We had instituted quite a few changes this year but no one ever complained. Everyone was always so cooperative and gracious. We are ending this year in a slightly difficult position. Due to reasons beyond their control, a couple deacons are unable to fill the 2^nd year service for this term. I know the nominating committee is working hard to find volunteers to help us for the upcoming church year. I pray that some of you can find it in your heart to help us out by making the commitment to help in any of the areas Immanuel needs volunteers for. It is so important for all of us to share in these roles in order for our wonderful Immanuel to continue to run well.

We will enter into the new church year with a strong group of deacons who will lead the team they are on and offer guidance and training for anyone who is joining the group of deacons for the first time.

The Elders did a very good job of getting to church on their days when they were scheduled to work. They also did a fine job of serving communion and collecting the offering. We began the year with 12 Elders, but lost 2 Elders due to their work schedule (William Masepohl and his wife Susan). The remaining Elders filled in when necessary.

They are: Steven Crague, William Howarth, Deborah Howarth, Mary Johnson, Brittany Pfister, Chris Sebenste, Linda Swanson, Jacob Swanson, Al Van Bruggen and Christine Wilcoxon. It was a pleasure to work with you.

Chairman of the Elders, Bob Moritz

The members of the Mission Committee have given "Mission Moments" during the worship services on the second Sunday of the Month throughout the year. These "Mission Moments" help us to highlight the mission project that we are currently working on.

We have continued the various missions such as, Health Kits, School Kits, etc., throughout the year. This year we also spent a lot of time talking to experts and other resources to develop an Immanuel Disaster Assistance Plan. After we wrote our• suggested plan of action, we presented it to the Church Council. The plan lists contact agencies and things members of Immanuel can do to help those in our faith community when they are struck with a natural disaster. We also started a year-long mission project involving the Northwest Indiana Food Bank. We collect an offering every third Sunday of the month to raise funds for the Food Bank. An anonymous donor has also volunteered to match the funds we raise for this cause. To date we have raised nearly $3,000. We have also given over a ton of food to the Greater Hammond Food Pantry.

We would like to thank each of you for supporting us in the various mission projects which we have had during the year. We look forward to your continuous support in the year ahead. God Bless You.

Marge Blulun,

Chair of the Mission Committee

Fellow Parishioners,

Well, this has certainly been another busy year in the life of our church. We continued our active involvement with local and UCC community efforts through time, monetary and material donations. Our local efforts included, but not limited to, collecting for the food pantry, school supplies, and supplies for deployed military members. Our youth

was very active this year with the Appalachia work trip and helping at the Horizon summer camp. They raised money by selling Free Trade goods that not only helped them but helped the farmers and the Sri Lanka Girls School.

As a congregation, we have dealt well with uncertainty this year. Welcoming and adapting to two Interim ministers while continuing our search for a Called Pastor. Our Pastor Search Committee has met every week for the last year; creating/updating the Church profile, reviewing candidate profiles, conducting multiple phone interviews and traveling to see candidate sermons. I know this process has been hard on all of us but mostly on the Search Committee and we owe a great debt of gratitude to them for their long hours and dedication. Please take a moment to thank them and show them your support.

We have done a lot to maintain/improve our Church and Parsonage this year as well. This included major items like the air conditioner repair, multiple plumbing problems at the Church and Parsonage, appliance repairs, a new carpet in the Oak Room, a wireless microphone, and re-keying the Church and Parsonage doors. The church computers are also being revitalized to make them work properly and postpone the need to replace them.

Like many other churches, we have struggled with finances this year as well because of fewer pledges, lower contributions, high winter utility bills and slipping attendance. We implemented an electronic donation option to make donating easier but this was not sufficiently used and has been cancelled. Your Church Council is working to stay within our means but we need to grow our membership to continue to support all our efforts.

Finally, I want to thank the congregation for all the support you have provided. You are Immanuel.

Rob Shutko Council President